New to Python - block grouping (spaces)

[sohcahtoa82 at gmail.com]

On Friday, April 17, 2015 at 10:06:13 AM UTC-7, BartC wrote:
> On 17/04/2015 17:28, Grant Edwards wrote:
> > On 2015-04-17, Michael Torrie <torriem at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> >> However, it may be that people recognized that you likely had made up
> >> your mind already, and posted accordingly.
> >
> > I think most of us just assumed he was just trolling and were playing
> > along for the fun of it.
> 
> What was troll-like about it? The OP made it clear he didn't like the 
> way Python made use of tabs, but he didn't want an argument about it or 
> to be persuaded to change his mind or change anyone else's.
> 
> He wanted to know if there was a simple syntax wrapper for it. That 
> seems reasonable enough.
> 
> (Actually *I* would quite like to know why languages don't have 
> switchable syntax anyway to allow for people's personal preferences.)
> 
> -- 
> Bartc

Allowing a switchable syntax only makes the fight even worse.  If you made braces in Python an option to use instead of whitespace block delimiting, then there'd be a ton of infighting among Python developers over which to use.  Just look at C/C++ developers fighting over where the opening brace goes.

By having the language itself forcing a specific style, it requires everyone using it to either shut up and get over it, or just don't use the language.

Personally, I like the Python style.  It forces people to write code that is at least somewhat good to look at.  Not like monstrosities like this that I see from newbie (hell, even professional) C/C++ programmers:

if (something > something_else)
{
result = do_something();
if (!result){
printf("Error!\n")
    return 0;
    }
    do_other_stuff();
    }

Can someone still write ugly code in Python?  No doubt about it.  But at least code blocks will be easily deciphered.